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There's people on this very board who argue against making ANY changes to the game that may infringe on its entertainment. I guess it makes you a "lowfat cream cheese eating hippie", or whatever that Fender idiot was trying to insult me with, if you try to argue just how detrimental repeated head injuries can be to a player's physical and mental health. There needs to be some MAJOR changes to the game of football. Entertainment is not worth the lives of other human beings.

I am guilty of it as well. Of course, so is the NFL itself with its whole proposal to extend the season to 18 games.

As I said above, athletes beat themselves up from a young age for the fame and hope of making it big. I wonder how much steroids had to play, if anything, in this case. Also he was divorced, but again its hard to say what/how much effects a person

Not sure who or what "Fender" is, but I am as guilty as the next guy in hating how watered down the league has become. That said, as TJ said man this is bad news for the NFL. The same day the Saints stuff gets released this happens. I smell a lot of lawsuits from former players, as if the NFL didnt have plenty already.

I did not watch the SC PC, but just reading about it was tough. Seau's mom saying a parent should never have to bury their son.

There was NO suicide note. It's being investigated as a suicide but it's not conclusive. Though I am willing to make the leap in logic that he did shoot himself and that his concussion history had plenty to do with it.

There's people on this very board who argue against making ANY changes to the game that may infringe on its entertainment. I guess it makes you a "lowfat cream cheese eating hippie", or whatever that Fender idiot was trying to insult me with, if you try to argue just how detrimental repeated head injuries can be to a player's physical and mental health. There needs to be some MAJOR changes to the game of football. Entertainment is not worth the lives of other human beings.

They get handsomely rewarded for putting their lives on the line. We have other professions that put themselves in a lot higher danger areas and pay them significantly less. Hell, we pay our soldiers crap compared to NFL football players.

Sorry that I don't shed a tear that they voluntarily choose to play a violent sport, knowing full well the health risks associated with it, while getting paid millions upon millions of dollars. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that using your head as a ramming rod is going to result in some adverse health risks.

If it sounds harsh, sorry, but I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for people that knowingly put themselves in danger and then complain when they get hurt.

It's a tragedy that Seau felt like he needed to take himself out, I don't wish that on anyone and I have the utmost respect for his career.

Why is everyone so quick to blame this on football and the NFL? No one knows what was going on in his personal life or what demons he was battling. I'm not saying that the football couldn't have had something to do with it. All I'm saying is that no one knows what was going on with his life or in his head, so it's a pretty big step at this point to even imply that the NFL has his blood in their hands.

How many former NFL players have killed themselves in recent years? You have the guy mentioned above from 2011, but who else? Is the percentage any higher than that of say former cops or bankers?

Seau’s death was preceded by the suicide last year of former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson, who also shot himself in the chest. Before his death, Duerson sent text messages to family members requesting that his brain tissue be examined for the same damage that had been found in other retired players: a disorder known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to depression, dementia and occasionally suicide.

There also was a retired Falcon player who just commited suicide this year who was dealing with dementia.

"When I heard it, I have to say in the past I would have been shocked," the Hall of Fame Giants linebacker said. "But I'm not shocked anymore."

Carson, early in his career back in the 1980s, said he contemplated suicide while driving over the Tappan Zee Bridge. Then he thought about leaving his infant daughter without a father.
"I knew years ago that there would come a point in time where, whether it was transitioning to the game, or there would be guys having these neurological issues, that players were going to be committing suicide," Carson said.
He added, "I said that years ago. Whether it's Dave Duerson, whether it's Andre Waters, whether it's Ray Easterling from two weeks ago, there are guys who are committing suicide."
Carson continued, "So people who look at me, they wonder about me, because I've been so out there in regard to the whole trauma brain-injury thing. I'm fine."

He said he predicted a rash of NFL suicides because of the neurological damage that can occur from playing the game.

"I knew how I felt as a player, having those thoughts of suicide, and you're going through something, and it's like you can't really explain what you're dealing with, and it's neurological," he said.

"You have these deep bouts of depression, and people think you're depressed because you're not playing anymore. You're depressed because you're having neurological issues that are very difficult to describe."

It's only been recently that the idea that football head trauma is frequent enough and severe enough to cause long term issues such as depression. The question to be answered legally is what did the NFL know and when, and what did they do with that information?

People knew there were risks, especially with the spotlight on boxing and Ali's Parkinson's disease... But that was thought to be a possibility, not a probability, in the NFL. It's starting look like there could be potential for those percentages to be higher. Although, you hope they truly have a cause and effect scenario they are studying and not ignoring other potential causes (such as whether steroid use is a factor either on its own or in conjunction with brain injuries). Plus, they need to know if the issue is really more prevalent and if so why- size of players... speed of the game... current rules... lax medical evaluations... Or is the occurrence the same and it's just better reporting/record keeping?

This does call into question preseason games and the proposed 18 game reg season. Seems like fewer games, not more should be the goal.

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Science is just now catching up to what everyone knew all along. Guys like Steve Young/Troy Aikman were famous in the mid-90s for having concussion problems and them making life difficult as a NFL player.

The discussion is now about how bad off the players were from the 1970s. This stuff doesn't creep up on you overnight. If anyone has ever had a concussion, you know from the very moment that you've messed your brain up. If you need a doctor to tell you that concussions are bad for your brain, then you probably don't have much brain left or you didn't have much brain to begin with.

I've had multiple concussions. When you're having symptoms days later, like sensitivity to light, constant headaches, etc gives you plenty of evidence that it's dangerous. It just seems like someone else is supposed to be the responsible one, and it's their fault you didn't know that you were doing damage to your own body.

They get handsomely rewarded for putting their lives on the line. We have other professions that put themselves in a lot higher danger areas and pay them significantly less. Hell, we pay our soldiers crap compared to NFL football players.

Sorry that I don't shed a tear that they voluntarily choose to play a violent sport, knowing full well the health risks associated with it, while getting paid millions upon millions of dollars. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that using your head as a ramming rod is going to result in some adverse health risks.

If it sounds harsh, sorry, but I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for people that knowingly put themselves in danger and then complain when they get hurt.

It's a tragedy that Seau felt like he needed to take himself out, I don't wish that on anyone and I have the utmost respect for his career.

Yeah I don't mean to sound like a heartless *******, but how many soldiers come back from combat and have all these issues? Way more than there are players in the NFL.

Its one thing to crack down on illegal hits (ie James Harrison). That I am all for. Usually they aren't even a good football play. But when it comes to an owner saying we should take out kick offs, thats going to far.

Juniors biggest problem it seems like is that he didn't reach out for help. Thats why everyone is so shocked by this. Because no one had a clue Junior was having problems. He kept them a secret. Junior always did this with any injuries. He would use personal doctors to treat his injuries away from the team so they didn't see his in a moment of weakness. He was superman. It made him seem invincible on the field, but in the end it was his downfall off the field. Its tragic. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

2. These guys signed up for it, knew what was involved, and no one forced them to play.

When I think of it rationally, I think the reality is somewhere in the middle. I think changes should and NEED to be made, not just because of this and other stories, but because it would be 100% STUPID to gain more knoweldge of how to better anything and simply say "NO, I refuse change at all". IMO change for the sake of change is bad, but if we have proof we can improve the safety of players, then we should.

I also think there needs to be a strong message sent from someone (I honestly dont know who) that while we love our entertainment, we also care about player safety. I think this message has gotten stronger, but IMO the almighty dollar will rule at the end of the day. Which is normal...I guess, but still sad.

Also, most guys have been playing football for a good 10 or so years by the time they are drafted into the NFL. In fact, most guys' pre-NFL football playing career will be much longer than their actual NFL career. So is the NFL also supposed to be accountable for all of the injuries that guys received while playing high school and college football? All the fury and lawsuits are directed towards the NFL while you rarely hear anyone attack the NCAA for these football injuries. College football players might not be NFL athletes, but they are still 18-22 year old men in prime physical shape who are more than capable of laying some nasty hits. Yet no one seems to direct their anger at the NCAA. Is all the fury being directed at the NFL because that's where the $$$ is?

This may sound crass, but I think people are taking advantage of Seau's suicide and using it as an opportunity to further their agenda against the NFL. Maybe hits contributed to his mental state or maybe they didn't. We don't know for sure. But people from all backgrounds kill themselves every single day for all sorts of reasons, so I think it's a bit reckless to *immediately* assume that Seau's suicide was a direct result of playing in the NFL. What percentage of former NFL players have killed themselves? Is that percentage any higher than that of doctors, police officers, or janitors? Why doesn't anyone seem to acknowledge that maybe Seau became depressed over his own personal life like thousands do every year, and that maybe football had absolutely nothing to do with it?

The biggest roadblock for me is the behavior of the NFLPA. Everytime the NFL steps up and hands out a harsh penalty, like suspending Vilma for the year, in the name of protecting players the NFLPA steps in and fights them tooth and nail. If ex-players, and the NFLPA, is gonna start suing the NFL for damages, then the NFLPA needs to get on board with necessary steps that need to be taken.

I have heard that NFL players can decide to wear old, out-dated, less safe, but "comfortable" helmets if they chose to do so.

There should be just a couple of approved models, all with the highest safety rating possible, and players be allowed to pick only between those few approved, more safe models.

Then the league needs to continue to do everything possible to eliminate helmet contact in the game. Not just helmet-to-helmet, but other blows to the head. Neither an offensive player no a defensive player should be able to lead with the helmet.

That way, the modern helmets protect against the accidental blow, and intentional blows are banned/severely punished.

i have heard people say we should go back to essentially no helmets/leather. The idea is sound, in that helmet contact needs to be minimized. It is a crazy idea though, given that accidental blows are bound to occur when a defender is targeting the chest and the offensive player ducks, for example, or jumping into a pile going after a loosed ball, for another.

So not just illegal hits, as they are defined now, are an issue, use of the head as an offensive or defensive weapon must be stopped for the preservation of the game, and highest safety standards need to be demanded with respect to equipment

Last edited by Slick Pinkham; 05-08-2012 at 03:06 PM.

The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!)

I have heard that NFL players can decide to wear old, out-dated, less safe, but "comfortable" helmets if they chose to do so.

There should be just a couple of approved models, all with the highest safety rating possible, and players be allowed to pick only between those few approved, more safe models.

Then the league needs to continue to do everything possible to eliminate helmet contact in the game. Not just helmet-to-helmet, but other blows to the head. Neither an offensive player no a defensive player should be able to lead with the helmet.

That way, the modern helmets protect against the accidental blow, and intentional blows are banned/severely punished.

i have heard people say we should go back to essentially no helmets/leather. The idea is sound, in that helmet contact needs to be minimized. It is a crazy idea though, given that accidental blows are bound to occur when a defender is targeting the chest and the offensive player ducks, for example, or jumping into a pile going after a loosed ball, for another.

So not just illegal hits, as they are defined now, are an issue, use of the head as an offensive or defensive weapon must be stopped for the preservation of the game, and highest safety standards need to be demanded with respect to equipment

I think in order for that to happen, there would need to be a progression back to leather helmets starting with peewee leagues. That way you wouldn't have players instinctively making a potentially deadly play.

The home of former Chargers star Junior Seau was burglarized last week, just days after he was found dead, the North County Times reported Tuesday.

Seau, who played in the NFL for 20 seasons, was found dead by his girlfriend inside their home in Oceanside, near San Diego, on May 2, with a gunshot wound to his chest. His death was ruled a suicide.

Police said Tuesday that burglars broke into the garage of the house at around 2 p.m. on May 7, after forcing their way in through a doggy door.

They stole a $500 bicycle that belonged to one of Seau's friends and rummaged through cabinets in the garage.

Police do not believe that anything else was taken and the burglars did not break into the main part of the house.

The Chargers and their fans honored Seau last Friday by officially retiring his uniform number, 55. Team president Dean Spanos made the announcement toward the end of the "celebration of life" ceremony at Qualcomm Stadium.